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Tens of thousands of Lebanese have cast their votes in tense polls to find replacements for two murdered MPs from the ruling anti-Syrian coalition.

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Under Lebanon's sectarian political system, the president is a Maronite Christian, the prime minister a Sunni Muslim and the speaker a Shia Muslim. Parliament elects the president.

Link

What do you think of the elections and the parliamentary system there? What is the effect on the region as a whole?

Ahem...

It's a very weak system. That is good, except that it is easily overpowered by an adjacent strong system, like Syria. You can't have a weak system adjacent to a strong system. It doesn't work.

For Lebanon to have a strong system, they would need a dictatorship, like Saddam Hussein had. I'm sorry to put it so simplistically, but that's the way it works in the Middle East.

Once Europe was all dictatorships (kingdoms, etc.) and now most if not all have moved towards democracy, even though they have not made it all the way. Is this because democracy is stronger, do you think, Gnarlodious, or is some other force at work?

Personally, this is one area where I agree with George W. Bush:

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If this were a dictatorship, it'd be a heck of a lot easier, just so long as I'm the dictator.

But "easy" isn't the highest value for me, so I have no plans to go that route.